Aug 2010 Financial News

Commission extends time to rule on cement-dumping claim

Aug 11, 2010

Jamaica's Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission (ADSC) says it will need more time to determine whether cement imported from the Dominican Republic has been dumped and has given itself an additional 45 days within which to rule on the matter.

A preliminary determination of the complaint by the domestic cement manufacturer, Caribbean Cement Company Limited, was due by July 29, in keeping with the normal 90-day provision of law.

That time frame can, however, be extended under special circumstances, such as that now being pleaded by the ADSC.

"The extension is due to the difficulty of obtaining satisfactory evidence in the investigation and other administrative and procedural challenges that made it unusually difficult for the commission to decide within the 90 days," the commissioners said in a statement.

Technical documents

The commission did not say what these challenges were, but other sources told Wednesday Business that they include the translation of technical documents from Spanish to English and their subsequent interpretation.

The company under direct scrutiny, Domicem SA, a manufacturer of Portland cement, from which the Jamaican company, Guying House Company, imports the product. Two firms, named as facilitators of the deal, the UK-based Blue Atlantic Investments Limited and International Material Incorporated of the USA, are also being investigated by the ADSC.

It is not known how much of Domicem's product came to Jamaica between February, when the shipments started, and April when Caribbean Cement filed its complaint.

But CCL insists that the Domicem SA's cement, imported in 42.5 kilo and 1.5 tonne mega bags under the brand names of Domicem and Anchor, were dumped, causing injury to its business.

Officials from neither Carib Cement nor Buying House Ltd, which sells construction material from Spanish Town and Montego Bay, were immediately available for comment on the ADSC's decision.

However, the commission's executive director, Andrea Marie Brown, indicated that the agency might not require the entire additional 45 days to arrive at its preliminary ruling.

Asking for the time, she explained, "does not mean that we will take the extension to the final date."

"The reason we take an extension to that date, because that is what is allowed in the statute," she said. "But we still try to accomplish the work as fast as possible, so we could end up finishing and being ready for a preliminary determination before the end of the extension."

Domestic dealers are allowed to import, duty free, 15 per cent of 760,000 tonnes that Jamaica needs annually, with anything above that being subject to the Caribbean Community's common external tariff (CET) of 15 per cent. No imports are allowed above that 15 per cent, effectively leaving 85 per cent of the market to the domestic manufacturer.

But Caribbean Cement, which declares its production capacity of over a million tonnes a year, argues regularly that exporters/importers often do not play by the rules and dump.

It had a string of successes with complaints for dumping against cement imported from Thailand, Indonesia and China, but recently lost a challenge to cement from the United States imported by Tank Weld Metals.


Source:
Mark Titus, Business Reporter
mark.titus@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday August 11, 2010

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100811/business/business2.html